CLEVELAND, Aug. 9 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network — Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., long among the leaders in municipal bond rankings maintained by The Bond Buyer, moved upward in the rankings for both bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel, according to the publication’s recently released half-year rankings. Squire
Sanders is second nationally in rankings for both bond counsel and
underwriters’ counsel.
Firm rankings are calculated by Thomson Financial Securities Data, which
publishes both The Bond Buyer and The Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace, or
The Red Book. The Red Book has tracked municipal finance issues since the
1940s, and Squire Sanders has been listed in it since the publication’s
inception.
Squire Sanders is ranked second nationally as bond counsel, up from fifth
in 2004, having served as bond counsel on 127 issues with an aggregate
principal amount in excess of $9.6 billion. The Bond Buyer notes that the
firm’s average deal size jumped nearly 75 percent to $75.7 million when
compared with activity in the first half of 2004.
The firm also ranks second nationally as underwriters’ counsel, up from
fourth at this time in 2004, having served as underwriters’ counsel on 58
issues with an aggregate principal amount of $5.5 billion.
“We are very pleased that in 2005 our clients are again giving us
opportunities to demonstrate the depth and breadth of our public finance
capabilities nationally,” said David S. Goodman, who coordinates the firm’s
national public securities practice.
Goodman noted that the firm has served as bond counsel so far this year on
a number of significant deals, such as the $509 million power revenue bond
project and $483.9 million power revenue refunding bond project for the Puerto
Rican Electric Power Authority. The firm also handled a $361 million bond
issue for the Florida State Board of Education, a $220 million refunding for
Ohio’s Water Pollution Control Fund, and two billion dollar projects for the
Brazos Higher Education Authority Inc.
“In addition to demonstrating our ability to handle some of the largest
and most complex public finance transactions in the country, these half-year
rankings also show our continuing commitment to all segments of the municipal
bond market,” Goodman said.
Squire Sanders also served as bond counsel in 2004 on a $750 million bond
issue selected by The Bond Buyer as the publication’s 2004 national “Deal of
the Year.” Lawyers from the firm’s Cleveland and Miami offices acted as bond
counsel to issuer Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in its
issuance of bonds to enhance its ability to pay claims arising from windstorms
and other weather-related events.
Founded in 1890, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. is one of the largest
international law firms with approximately 700 lawyers serving clients
throughout the world. The firm’s offices in the Americas are in Cincinnati,
Cleveland, Columbus, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Palo Alto,
Phoenix, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Tampa, Tysons Corner and Washington
DC. In Europe, offices are in Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, London, Madrid,
Milan, Moscow, Prague and Warsaw. In Asia, offices are in Beijing, Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Tokyo.
